Learning to Lead

Alison Hoagland’s compass for success

Strong willed. Driven. A natural leader. That’s the way Alison Hoagland, a Daily Journal of Commerce 2017 Phenom winner, describes both her son and daughter.

The same words can describe Hoagland who has risen quickly through the ranks at Mackenzie to become assistant department head of architecture and a leader in the firm’s retail sector.

“I just hope my children learn from my journey that the secret to being a strong leader isn’t being someone else, but being true to who you are and believing in yourself,” Hoagland says.

Driven to learn
Hoagland’s career started with a strong curiosity about the world around her. As a high school student, she drew pictures of downtown buildings in Portland. Her father, seeing her aptitude for both math and art, suggested architecture. Hoagland enrolled in the architecture department at University of Oregon and jumped in with both feet.

“I’m just driven to learn about everything,” she says. “Architecture is always changing because people are always changing. It’s the art form of humanity.”

A professor shared a valuable insight that’s driven Hoagland’s professional journey: Don’t be satisfied with accomplishments but always seek the next thing to learn about.

“Learning drives who I am,” Hoagland says. “I want to learn from people and I want to pass that knowledge on. Learning is the compass that drives my ship.”
Finding a mentor
When she joined Mackenzie 14 years ago, she had plenty of opportunity to learn. At the multi-disciplinary firm, Hoagland got experience in projects in industrial, public, office, tenant improvement, and retail. She learned not just to draw a pretty picture but how to design a building so it was safe, durable, healthy and practical for people. She was lucky, too, to find strong mentors who believed in her and helped guide her path. Her first mentor was a strong female architect.

“That was a great way to start my career because it made me believe in myself and (see) that there’s a great career path ahead of me as a woman in architecture,” Hoagland says.

After this mentor left the industry, Hoagland was quick to find new mentors to help continue her growth. Two senior leaders at Mackenzie, Peter Alto and Terry Krause, recognized her value to the firm and her need for greater work life balance.

Giving everyone 120 percent
Early in her career, Hoagland thought being a leader meant doing it all by herself. A very competitive person by nature, she found she often compared herself to others. To be successful, she believed at the time, was all about shouldering responsibilities and not asking for help. She felt like she had something to prove and working harder was the only path.
“I was giving everyone 120 percent — everyone, that is, except myself,” she says.

A path to failure
The building industry is extremely challenging: tight deadlines, difficult personalities, high risk and pressure to perform all the time. The challenges were taking a toll on Hoagland.

“I felt like I was not only letting myself down but everyone who expected so much from me,” she recalls.

One day her husband, Dan, who had been by her side from the beginning to help her find balance, forced her to go to the gym. She reluctantly agreed, thinking she would sit down and try to watch an entire movie, something she hadn’t been able to do in years. Instead, she jumped on a treadmill.

“That literally saved my life. I was on a path to failure and I wasn’t being successful at work or at home. I had let everything get the better of me,” she says.

Asking for help
Her village of support had always been there for her: Her mother and mother-in-law provided childcare and her husband adjusted his schedule and worked cooperatively to find the right balance at home.

But Hoagland had to be okay with asking for more help and accepting it. Her mentor Krause knew firsthand how difficult it was to not let work drag you down and dominate your life.

“What I hadn’t realized is that they had been waiting to be asked,” Hoagland says. “That was the turning point. It only made me stronger to accept the help of others.”

In addition, leaders at Mackenzie provided Hoagland with an outside coach.

“You don’t just wake up one day and say, ‘I’m going to make this decision and work on myself and my career.’ You need help along the way,” Hoagland says. “Working with a coach who continuously asked about my personal life — and getting the ongoing support from my husband and manager — was what I needed.”

A collective journey
Hoagland realized that trying to control every situation was a barrier not only for her growth, but for the growth of people on her team. When Hoagland began to let go of control and learned to lean on her team, her leadership path changed from a solo to a collective journey.

Instead of doing it herself, she found opportunities to let go of responsibility so other people could shine. As a consequence, it took the stress off of Hoagland and, in turn, made her team members feel good about what they were doing.

Her days now start by identifying what tasks she can delegate and to whom. But delegation doesn’t mean just off-loading tasks. It means identifying people’s strengths and matching them with the right tasks. Hoagland had to learn to be a better listener, to take the time to understand her team, and to be available to coach them when they flounder.

Learning to be firm
In order to let go of control, Hoagland also realized she needed to much better at letting people on her team know when they had let her down. Conflict adverse by nature, Hoagland was more likely to let mistakes go unnoticed or not address them at all. Difficult conversations just didn’t happen.

Through coaching, though, she realized a direct conversation didn’t have to a big deal. She would role play the night before with her husband to take the emotion out of her message and get right to the point. She even practiced in front of a mirror to see what her body language would convey.

The whole picture
In Hoagland’s new view, a strong leader is someone who is successful at home and work. “We’re fooling ourselves if we show the world that it’s all about careers,” she says. “The main reason we have a career is to bring joy and life in other areas of our lives. I now find joy and pride in both my career and what I do outside of work.”

When she mentors young people, many of them women, she is open about what she’s learned, both the successes and hard lessons: You don’t need to sacrifice a personal life to be successful; don’t do it alone; and learn to let others shine.
She also reminds them that success requires balanced commitment and hard work.

“Young people need to hear that it’s often a struggle to be successful,” Hoagland says. “But working through the struggle is where you see the most success and where you really learn about yourself.”